lowdowner

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1355662839' post='1901022'] ... plinky plonky jazz ... [/quote] ?? is that a new type of jazz?

[quote name='Bill' timestamp='1351638769' post='1853729'] a few clips of my lovely 1990 Streamer Stage I (modded with black hardware, Nordstand Big singles, and a Aguilar OBP3 pre-amp) :-) Grooving with funk backing track: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usEsOeyl9Tw[/media] Melodic bass improvisation: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq4UlgwoA8Y[/media] Will try and post some nice pic's of her soon! [/quote] What a stunning bit of funk playing - really inspirational

My advice is to go with the knitting. Bass playing is a life of woe and tears.

[quote name='SpaceChick' timestamp='1355592008' post='1900349'] Here you go! [url="http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/b/beatles/dear_prudence_ver2_btab.htm"]http://tabs.ultimate...e_ver2_btab.htm[/url] I've made some adaptations for the band, as we start the track just bass and vocals, so I start on the A string D, then C, then b flat then B, but once the other instruments come in, I go up to the 7th fret on the G string. [/quote] You see - that's why I love this site! thanks!

James Brown - I feel good The Drifters - Under the boardwalk Funky!

[quote name='SpaceChick' timestamp='1355521001' post='1899680'] Oh this is a toughy...... I think with the band, the one I enjoy the most is Dear Prudence, closely followed by Another Brick in the wall. [/quote] Sounds good - can you point me in the direction of a Dear Prudence tab online?

'stay in the pink with ciggies and drink'?? now *that's* a saying to live by!

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1355250541' post='1895977'] They do free samples if you visit .............. 8 day stay & 8 distilleries, what a bind! [/quote] I'm an ardbeg or lagavulin fan personally since the re-build of the bruichladdie distillery - like many, I also own some of the laphroig peat bog and fully intend to return next year to claim my rent <slurp>

Bass/ No Bass? More importantly.. pictures? (or are you too busy playing the bass?) Come on, I'm desperate for a happy ending

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1355235975' post='1895727'] I would suggest that most people do the majority of listening in conditions where audiophile quality is irrelevant. Nearly all of my music listening is done while I'm travelling or at home while I'm doing other things. In these listening situations I'm hard pressed to tell the difference between a 160BR MP3 and an uncompressed AIFF let alone any differences between a good CD and well cut and pressed vinyl. In the end the most important thing is: Do I like the music I am listening to or not? [/quote] Indeed - I can barely hear the music in my land rover, it's a crude and noisy thing, but I sing along very loudly and still enjoy it. That wasn't the original point, it was about quality not about whether quality was relevant

[quote name='redstriper' timestamp='1355235566' post='1895720'] If mp3s were invented first, would anyone bother inventing vinyl or CDs to replace them? [/quote] Nope - there's no money in quality (largely) - most people can't be arsed to appreciate the difference

A weekend or so ago I put on a record on my turntable (classical as it happened, but probably not very relevant) and the people in the room said 'If i heard music of that quality at home i'd listen to music more - it's amazing'). They listen to mp3's through a computer feed into an amplifier and speakers in their own home. Standard Mp3s sound rubbish and are very bland - but most people now listen to music whilst playing computer games, browsing the net, or as background 'wash'... it probably isn't important to most people to have a great, exciting, sound - just that it's convenient. Each to their own...

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1355139992' post='1894457'] Cant believe we are already back to this. CD is not 'lossy' sampling is not losing information, and converting back from digital to analogue does not leave 'steps' wher the samples were in the wave form. [/quote] CD sampling *is* lossy, samples are taken once in every 1/44100ths of a second - the waveform in between is thrown away. When the DAC converts these samples back to analogue they interpolate and smooth out the waveform by guessing what would have most likely occurred in between the samples. The original data (waveform) between the samples is lost. Hence, CD sampling is 'lossy'. It's actually worse than that. due to timing errors in the DAC's clock as it drifts with respect to the reading of the bits, further interpolation is required. Many people claim to be able to hear this 'guessing'. I'm not so convinced - but many are. But either way, CD sampling is, by definition, lossy as it only 'samples' the waveform.

Surely it's all about listening? My current speakers are the result of listening to different ones at different price points - the ones somewhere in the 'middle' of the range of those I tried seemed the best compromise between cost and quality, but even without fiddling with the room, the difference was big enough to warrant the price (about £3K). Similarly with the CD and amp. I was lucky enough to be given a turntable that my father was finding increasingly difficult to use due to infirmity, but was a good few thousands worth. It runs rings round the (very good) CD player I bought to listen to my existing CD collection but which had to then at least hold its head up high compared to the stunning deck. Pretty much regardless of room, it's easy (for me) to tell the difference between a thousand pound's worth of gear and ten thousand pounds worth of gear. Whether it's personally 'worth it' to you is a question only you can answer, but the difference is very clear. I don't have the luxury to move the room around to suit though, but the positioning is pretty good anyway.

Definitely keep the blog going by the way - i don't have much to add/say about it, but it's really interesting to see where it goes

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1355087138' post='1893921'] No media lasts forever (and I don't recall saying it did), but you try making a 100% perfect copy of a vinyl record. [/quote] Nor of a live performance, but it doesn't devalue it Nor of a rose, but it doesn't make it less 'valuable' than a machine-made artificial flower. Music is for listening to not copying surely? I'm not sure what the argument is - surely you just listen to both and choose the one you prefer?

Started on Flute (grade 7), moved to classical guitar (still playing and learning), bass is my love, have done vocals, and also now playing drums. As someone said earlier in the thread, i'd find it difficult to play just one instrument, but I'm drawn to bass for some reason I can't quite put my finger on. I have no doubt that I could play lead guitar ok (after all, my classical 6 string is not too bad!) but I don't want to. Bass also requires a degree of theory (either explicit, or just 'felt') that lead guitar doesn't - it takes a certain kind of musical mind to play it well... or so I like to tell myself. Also, my rather good looking Drum teacher (Emily) assures me that bass players always look sexy 'something about bass that makes the player hot!' - who are we to disagree with such a knowledgeable person?

[quote name='Leonard Smalls' timestamp='1355076308' post='1893730'] As has been pointed out, cd (and definitely higher resolution digital formats) is technically superior to vinyl. However, I find that when played side-by-side, folks still prefer the sound of vinyl. For me, the sound of a record is more musical, somehow, than a cd. And for the record (!) I have a Clearaudio Reference TT, and Advantage cdp. Perhaps it's the valve phomostage? [/quote] My mother - who most certainly isn't interested in the technology, claims that vinyl sounds 'faster paced' and 'more alive' than CD's which she claims sounds like the musicians are all a bit dozy... I don't think she gives a hoot about the kit, just what she hears in the music.

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1355074622' post='1893694'] I saw a gadget show, last year I think, where they set up a blind listening test using an allegedly top end HiFi listen to Floyds dark side using vinyl, CD and 320kbps mp3, the mp3 won. [/quote] But some say this can be explained by 'familiarity' i.e. people who drink cheap sweet wine all the time will choose it as their preferred drink when confronted with a glass of blue nun against Chat. Cantenac '62. People choose what they are familiar with because they think *that* is what it should sound like. I'm not saying that 320Kbps MPEG isn't good, just questioning whether the gadget show's rather simplistic view is very relevant?

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1355075418' post='1893709'] The RIAA is an EQ curve applied at cutting to compensate for the inherent limitations in vinyl as a delivery medium. Basically it boosts the treble and cuts the bass. An opposite curve is then applied at playback - which is why amps need special inputs for record decks and if you connect your deck to a normal line-level input it sounds horrible. While the playback curve improves the signal to noise ratio in the upper range of the signal, the bass which needs to be boosted also increases the noise level in this portion of the audio spectrum and also makes unwanted aural artefacts like rumble more prominent. [/quote] Yes, i *know* what an RIAA curve is - I built a circuit to reverse it before feeding a pre-amp. My point was that it isn't 'lossy' like CD sampling is so the comparison isn't so relevant.

[quote name='YouMa' timestamp='1355074854' post='1893700'] Is everyone not entitled to that though. Im sure my views would be a lot different if i had been born when he was. Hence me and my dad argue a lot. [/quote] Yes, I'm not damning the man - who am I to judge? I'm sad to see him pass as I think he made broadcasting in the UK more diverse and interesting. But I'd also feel uncomfortable if nothing was said at all about some of his views. I'm sure his shoulders are broad enough and he'd argue his corner if he were here

At the risk of being lynched, he *did* have some quite extreme political views that a lot of people found very 'challenging'.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1355061788' post='1893476'] So is vinyl. Have you never heard of the RIAA curve? [/quote] My understanding is that the RIAA is lossless though (to any point worth worrying about) because it's an analogue reshaping of an analogue signal in both directions (the shaping/re-shaping process is not losing information), where as CD compression is most certainly *lossy* i.e. there is information thrown away that is not recoverable. Many would argue that that loss of information during CD sampling isn't audible (but I'd argue against that). Either way, they are definitely not the same thing.

The problem is cost. In my opinion, if you can afford to spend (or want to spend) upwards of a few thousand+ on a hi-fi then you'd be mad not to seriously listen to vinyl. A good turntable/arm/cartridge costing around £1000 to £2000 can sound absolutely stunning compared to a CD player costing the same. Only your ears and no amount of chatting about it can really convince you though. As for records 'wearing out' every time you platy them - I have CDs that can no longer be played because the lacquer has become opaque in the sunlight, or because of scratching. On the other hand I have much loved records that I have played many, many, hundreds of times that still sound completely new and fresh. Anyone who says CDs are 'perfect sound forever' has swallowed a lot of marketing hype

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1355010378' post='1893037'] I tell everyone I know that I play bass. I am so proud of the fact I have become a massive bass bore.! [/quote] Surely there's no such thing??